1. How does your service work? We interview nannies on a daily basis, and then when a family sends in their application, we match them up with families who are looking for what they are looking for. We usually send over to you between 3 and 6 candidates the first week. You interview them and then pick the one you like best. We ask that you call her references (we already have, but we’d like you to speak with them directly), and then once you receive her background check from us, she can start!
2. What are your minimum requirements for nannies? All nannies must have a minimum of 3 years experience babysitting, nannying or working for a private business (i.e. preschool, daycare). They must also have at least 3 professional references, and CPR and first aid completed or renewed before they start. In addition, they must allow us to run a background check on them before they start. All nannies must be legal citizens and have 2 proofs of identification with pictures.
3. What are your fees? Loving Nannies charges an application fee of $250 to begin a nanny search. As soon as you have chosen your nanny, Loving Nannies charges a one-time placement fee of $6500 for a live in nanny, $5000 for a full time nanny (over 30 hours/week), $3000 for a part time nanny (under 30 hours/week), and $2000 for a regular babysitter (under 10 hours/week). Loving Nannies also offers temporary nanny services for $50/day or $300/week. For newborn day & overnights services, we charge 25% of the newborn specialist’s gross pay calculated upfront as soon as the newborn specialist is booked.
4. Why do you charge something up front? First of all, it makes you obligated to us and us obligated to you. Because we are an accredited company that has been around for a long time, we have many prospective clients who ask us to work on finding them someone and we only want to work with the ones who are serious. We know that you may be going through other companies and we work hard to find you a nanny before anyone else does. Believe me, as soon as you sign up we are working on it until we find you someone! Also, because our prices are so much less than what other companies charge… it is very much worth paying the $250 upfront.
5. What is your guarantee period? Or what happens if the nanny quits after a month? The guarantee period is 1 Year or 360 days. If your nanny quits before the 1 Year is up, then you can call us and ask us to find you another nanny. Keep in mind this can take up to a month, but we treat you as a new family and try our best to find you a replacement right away.
6. What type of background check do you do? We do a Social Security Number Trace, a National Criminal and Sex Offender search along with local county criminal searches when necessary (we check maiden names and all aliases), and a Department of Motor Vehicles Search to see if the nanny ever had a DUI, extensive tickets or accidents. In addition, we give the nanny information and forms to register with Trustline if she doesn’t already have it. We also have the ability to do international criminal searches, drug tests and other types of searches. Just let us know what you would like and we can run those searches.
7. Why should we use your service and not another? Well, we offer the same services as our competitors but we we are less expensive and will most likely have a larger selection of nannies to choose from. Loving Nannies has grown to be the most recognized nanny service in San Diego and has been in business longer than any other agency that is open today! If you ask anyone, they will most likely tell you that they have heard of us. We’ve won 1st place for Best San Diego Nanny Agency many years in a row and have an A+ standing with the BBB. We have helped over 5000 San Diego families to date and interview 5-10 nannies per day. Unlike some services who do not screen their nannies in person, we thoroughly interview each and every nanny in person for 1-3 hours each, check & transcribe references, conduct stringent background checks, offer Trustline & drug screening, and make sure our nannies have current CPR and First Aid. We genuinely care about every family who signs up with us and that is why we take each and every placement so seriously. Also, we are a small family run business and really try to go out of our ways to help. For instance, if you ever need a last minute babysitter or have an emergency, call us and I promise we’ll try our best to help you out. We are very personable with our families and nannies. We have also been in business since the late 90’s and so we have lots of experience placing nannies.
8. What are the responsibilities of a nanny? A nanny’s main responsibility is the children. Many nannies are willing to do other household duties, i.e. children’s laundry, dishes and light housework, but their priorities will always be to care of the children. When there is downtime, most nannies will help you out around the house, but it is not required and most nannies will not do heavy cleaning such as vacuuming, bathrooms, windows, or parents laundry. If your nanny is willing to help you out with heavier cleaning, then she will probably ask to be compensated for it with a higher hourly pay.
9. What do most nannies make per hour or per week? Nannies these days usually request $23-$30/hr or at least $1,000/wk salary for full time, 40 hours/wk. We can have an outstanding nanny who has 10 years experience who requests $23/hr and a college nanny that requests $28/hr. Every nanny is different based on what they are used to making. You tell us what you want to pay and the type of person and we find matches for you!
10. Do I have to offer sick pay, paid vacation or health benefits? This topic is between you and the nanny. That is completely up to you. If the nanny you hire is working full time, she might request that, and you will need to talk with her in the beginning about what she accepts and what your willing to do. But, I do know that the more you give your nanny, the happier she is and the longer she’ll stay with you! If you do offer her something, it’s a good idea to have her work at least 60 days to earn the benefits. This will show you if she is serious about her job or not.
How does it work with the taxes? The taxes are between you and the nanny. By law, you are supposed to do the taxes, so make sure you look into this. We recommend using GTM Payroll Services. They are one of the most established household payroll and nanny tax service providers in the U.S. They can be reached at 1-888-432-7972 or you can read more about their services at www.gtm.com